London church appointment for Focus Consultants

St Marylebone Church

Focus Consultants has been appointed to project manage a plan for a major restoration at one of London’s historic churches.

The Parish Church of St Marylebone, home to the internationally respected Healing and Counselling Centre and innovative NHS Marylebone Health Centre, has been awarded initial support of £700,000 from The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop proposals for the £8.6m restoration of the church and the renewal of community facilities. 

The historical Grade I listed London landmark has appointed Focus Consultants as project directors and project managers.  

The scheme is set to include new building work adjoined to the current structure to include a welcome and reception area, additional exhibition space and a café for visitors. In addition to this, extensive repairs and conservation efforts are expected to take place on the existing building. 

Focus Consultants partner Ellie Clarke said: “St Marylebone Church is an important building in London and the team at Focus is very pleased to have been appointed to help with the development in the next chapter of its history.

“We have significant experience of working on such projects and are looking forward to project managing these inspiring proposals.”

Constructed in 1817, the Anglican church located on the Marylebone Road is the third building used for the parish church in the borough’s 900-year-old history. The present church was the venue for the wedding of Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barrett and the baptism of Charles Dickens’ son. In the 1980s, the Parish took a huge leap in converting the unusable crypts of the church to create a range of complementary facilities for community uses.  

The Rector of St Marylebone, The Revd Canon Stephen Evans, commented: “The regeneration will allow the parish to become a Community Hub which will tell the story of St Marylebone "the great city north of Oxford Street".

The Rector and Parochial Church Council will be partnering the Church Army’s Marylebone Project in providing a Community Café, staffed by women who would otherwise be homeless, Vital Regeneration, an innovative community enterprise project based in Church Street, one of Westminster’s most deprived areas, working with local young people who are not in employment or education, the Building Crafts College in Stratford (which was founded in and had its premises in Marylebone for nearly 100 years) and a host of other individuals and agencies. 

The Changing Lives project will lead to a more sustainable future for the church - creating a vibrant, welcoming hub and enabling visitors to learn more about the heritage of the church and the wider Marylebone area. 

The Focus team is currently working to develop the bid ready for submission to the HLF in Summer 2018. The project is expected to be completed in 2020. 

Focus, which is based in Nottingham, has offices in London, Leicester and Boston in Lincolnshire. This project is being led by the London office. The company has, since 1994, secured for clients more than £953 million of grants for projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

It also offers a range of services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, quantity surveying, project management, and sustainable development support.

For more information, visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk 

Police contract for Focus Consultants

Focus Consultants has been appointed to project manage a key scheme for Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

The company is spearheading the development of a new sexual assault referral centre (SARC) being created at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, near Huntingdon.

The contract was awarded via the Eastern Shires Purchasing Framework and is the latest ‘blue light’ scheme that Nottingham-based Focus Consultants has been appointed on.

Work is due to get on site shortly at Hinchingbrooke Hospital and involves refurbishing a former hospital ward to create a special unit for investigating sexual assaults in a joint project for the police and the NHS. The one-storey building is undergoing a complete re-fit, with the installation of special areas for adults and children, as well as counselling rooms, lounges and showering facilities.

The project represents an £850,000 investment.

Focus, which has its headquarters at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and offices in Leicester, London, and Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, is project managing the scheme, as well as providing building surveying and design services.

Partner at Focus Consultants Keith Butler said: “This project requires specialist skills, due to the sensitive nature of the work that will be undertaken there. Focus is very pleased to be taking such an important role in this improvement and redevelopment for the police in Cambridgeshire, which is the latest in a number of projects we have been involved in for the emergency services.”

Focus offers a range of services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, quantity surveying, project management, and sustainable development support.

The company also specialises in funding and economic development including area regeneration strategies, funding applications, economic impact appraisals, business plans, and research and evaluation.  Since 1994 Focus has also secured for clients more than £953 million of grants for projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

For more information, visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk 

New senior appointment at Focus Consultants

Andy White joins Focus Consultants

Focus Consultants has appointed Andy White as senior project manager to head up the healthcare team.

Andy joins Nottingham-based Focus from Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, where he was capital projects manager and before that estates services manager (forensic).

Skilled in project management, he has more than 30 years of experience in the construction and maintenance industries, including 23 in healthcare and also including management and leadership roles.

Focus partner Keith Butler said: “We are very pleased to welcome Andy to Focus Consultants, at a time when our work in the healthcare sector is expanding

“He brings vast experience of the sector and will strengthen the company’s team as we continue to grow.”

A chartered building surveyor since 1991, Andy is based in the Nottingham office of Focus, at Phoenix Business Park, and will work in conjunction with the teams across the Leicester, London and Lincolnshire offices of the company.

“Focus Consultants is a long-established company working on an extensive portfolio of projects in the healthcare and other sectors. I’m delighted to have joined the business and I’m looking forward to contributing to its continued success,” said Andy. 

Focus offers services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, contract administration, party wall surveying, clerk of works, quantity surveying, project management, CDM services and BREEAM assessments, as well as energy calculations and modelling. 

The company also specialises in funding and economic development including area regeneration strategies, funding applications, economic impact appraisals, business plans, and research and evaluation. Since 1994 Focus has secured for clients more than £953 million of grants for projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

For more information about Focus Consultants, visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham based PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk 

Focus Consultants announces Leicester promotions

Left to right, James Garner and Chris Green

Two internal promotions have been made in the Leicester office of Focus Consultants following growth in the firm’s building surveying department. 

James Garner has been appointed as senior consultant and continues to head up the traditional building surveying commissions. Chris Green has become a consultant, two and a half years after joining the company straight from university. 

Focus experienced a 20% growth in building surveying work in its Leicester office during 2014, over the previous year. 

Both James and Chris are based at the Princess Road East office of Focus, which also has branches in Nottingham, London, Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire. The firm offers a range of services to the property and construction industry and is also a specialist in energy and funding. 

Partner Keith Butler said: “These promotions are a reflection of the hard work and commitment provided by both individuals which has contributed to the growth of the department. It is particularly pleasing to provide clear career paths and witness the personal development of key members of staff.” 

Focus is celebrating its 21^st anniversary during 2015. The company offers a range of building services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, quantity surveying, project management, CDM Co-ordinator services and sustainable development support. 

Since its creation in 1994, Focus has also helped to secure more than £925 million of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.0 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

For more details about Focus Consultants visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Key internal promotions at Focus Consultants

 

Focus Consultants has made two senior internal promotions as the company continues to expand.

Jason Redfearn has been appointed as a Partner of the business, while senior surveyor Craig Gould has been promoted to an Associate.

Jason, who leads the Energy Team at Focus, is based in the firm’s Leicester office in Princess Road East.
Craig Gould, who is deputy business manager for the building surveying unit, works out of the Nottingham headquarters of the company at Phoenix Business Park.

Focus Partner Karl Marriott said: “Both Jason and Craig have been with us for several years and epitomise the Focus spirit and culture. They are loyal, creative, hard working, commercially aware and enthusiastic.

“I am very pleased to announce their new positions within the company.”

Focus, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary during 2014, offers a range of services in the construction and development sector, including funding and economic development, regeneration expertise, energy consultancy and chartered surveying services.

Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £925m of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.0 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

It has worked on a range of high-profile projects in the arts, heritage and tourism sector, including some of the major museums across the UK, and important historical and ecclesiastical sites.

Focus is also a key player in the sustainability sector and, over the past ten years alone, the firm has completed more than 600 projects across the country.   

Jason joined Focus in January 2003, having graduated in Building Surveying. He gained practical experience in project delivery within the social housing sector whilst developing the Focus energy and sustainability services, originally based in Nottingham he moved to the Leicester office in 2006.

“Under his leadership, the Energy Team has grown impressively in tough market conditions to become a significant part of the business,” added Karl.

Craig began his career at Focus in 2003, while still undertaking an HNC in construction at West Nottinghamshire College in Mansfield. He was taken on full time shortly after in April 2003 by Focus as a trainee building surveyor and CAD technician, and he went on to achieve a Building Surveying degree at Sheffield Hallam University, while being sponsored by Focus.

Both Craig and Jason have benefited from the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence training delivered by Focus, and both went on to pass at the first attempt to both become Chartered Building Surveyors.

Outside of work, Craig, who grew up in Sutton-in-Ashfield and now lives in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, is a keen sportsman. He plays cricket for Mansfield Hosiery Mills Cricket Club and is a member of the Nottingham Forest FC Directors Club. As a youngster, he played football for the Nottingham Forest Academy. He has also played cricket for the Midlands and Nottinghamshire CCC at Academy level.

Focus has offices in Nottingham, Leicester, Boston, Aubourn in Lincolnshire and Holborn in London.

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk